Shattered Hope
by Absenteeism
Summary: It's the summer before seventh year and Lily's parents have gotten divorced. However, things go wrong when her mother gets married… again!
1. The One With The Letters

**Heyy!**

**This is my new story "Shattered Hope". I'm currently working on "James and Lily: Entwined" as well but I couldn't resist putting in this chapter, I worked really hard on it and I'm really excited about this new story.**

**This story, just like "J+LE" is also a bit non-canon, you'll see why at the end of this chapter. However, I don't think it's _too_ off (OK - maybe a little bit!).The story is currently rated "T" because of some language but the rating might go up - I'll let you know if there any "mature" scenes in a chapter.**

**Anyways, hope you like it and don't forget to go read my other story as well!**

**xoxox**

**Sara

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**

_Nicole and Lucy,_

_How have your holidays been so far? You two are _so_ lucky - you get to spend your time at Nicole's place while I'm stuck at home with my mum and _him_. This is boring as hell and it doesn't help that _he's_ around. I swear, he's up to something and it isn't good. I think he's planning to do something illegal. I've told my mum but she just laughed about it. Yeah, I know, you'd think that she'd believe her own daughter. Apparently not._

_We're going down to Devon next week and we're staying there for two or three weeks so that 'we can get to know each other better'. I begged my mom and she let me invite you two to come with us. It's the least she can do; she knew I hated him in the first place._

_Anyways, come. PLEASE. Beg your parents, cry, scream, throw a tantrum, do everything you can so that you can come with us. If you don't, then by the time we get back to Hogwarts, I'll be dead. It kills me to be around him._

_Hope you two are having fun!_

_Hugs,_

_Lily_

_P.S. I hate him. Did I say that already!_

Lily nibbled her lower lip softly and, deciding that there was nothing else to add, she rolled up the piece of parchment and called her owl, Nefertari, who flew out of her cage obediently. Tying the letter softly around her owl's leg, she sighed. She really did hope that Lucy and Nicole came, just like she had suggested. July was coming to an end and Lily was already sick of him and his stupid tricks and oh-so-'witty' comments. He really did have nothing better to do than annoy her, did he?

"Take the letter to Nicole and Lucy – they're at Nicole's place." Lily said to the owl as she opened the window. She leaned on the window sill as the owl flew off, her wings rustling against the wind.

To be honest, Lily didn't know what she had done to deserve such punishment. She was always nice to people, handed her homework in on time and was always there to help – not the ideal description of someone who was being punished so 'severely' as she liked to put it. She was a good girl.

Lily sighed as she closed the window and went to lie down on her bed, hugging a pillow close to her chest. She'd thought that when Petunia went off to live with their father, things would get better but then her mother had gotten married again and _he_ had moved in. She would spend her days in her room reading, writing letters to her friends, listening to music and lying on her bed, dwelling over her own misfortune, just as she was doing right now.

Life isn't fair.

* * *

Lily stormed up to her bedroom, tears in her eyes.

"Lily, come back, you haven't finished your dinner yet!" she heard her mother shout from downstairs.

"I'm not hungry, leave me alone!" she yelled as she slammed the bedroom door.

She threw herself onto the bed and burst out crying. This wasn't the first time that Lily had left the dinner table in tears, leaving most of her food behind. In fact, it had happened every single day since she'd gotten home from the holidays.

At first, it was just her natural reaction to his presence at the dinner table. However, once he had fully realised the effect that he had on her, he'd started taunting her, making jokes and stupid comments and deliberately trying to catch her attention in the most ridiculous ways. Sometimes he didn't even say anything. Sometimes, he would just smirk and eat his food, knowing that this infuriated her. It had, however, become unbearable for Lily, and the emotional overload had become too much for her. She would now take refuge in her room, crying and cursing her mother for doing this to her and him for purposely infuriating her this way.

Her bedroom door opened to reveal her mother who was leaning on the door frame. "Lily, when is this going to stop?"

"How about never!" Lily answered, turning away.

"Honey, you've got to accept it. They're here to stay, they're not going anywhere. Please. I know it's hard for you but you can't just give in like that, you're giving him the wrong message. Every single day you leave dinner table halfway through our meal and you spend the night crying. Sweetie, you know he gets a kick out of making you angry and if you react this way, he's just going to keep doing it."

"Leave me alone! Go away, I don't want you here!" Lily screamed, covering her ears with her hands.

"Lily, you're being terribly immature about this!" April - Lily's mother - said, starting to get irritated.

"_And he isn't?_ You're there, mom, you see him do it every single night but you don't say a thing. You don't try to get him to stop. You let him do it over and over again. What am I supposed to do? Ignore him!"

"Yes! Just act as if it isn't happening and he'll stop! I promise!" Lily's mother pleaded.

"I won't do it, mom. I still have some pride left in me and I'm not going to let him run over me. I need to react and let him know I'm not taking it and this is the only way I can do that!" Lily responded. "Leave me alone mum, please."

April shook her head, disappointed, and left the room without saying another word.

Lily climbed under the covers, fully dressed, and lay on her bed staring at the ceiling. It couldn't get any worse than this, could it?

* * *

Lily woke up startled, looking around for the source of the noise she'd heard. Seeing her owl outside the window holding a letter, she quickly jumped up and ran to let Nefertari in.

She carefully untied the letter from the owl's leg and threw some owl treats into her cage whilst walking over to her bed. She quickly unrolled the piece of parchment and read what was written.

_Lily,_

_Great to hear from you, we hope things have calmed down a bit. We're having fun here, gone swimming almost every day. You should have come to stay. How's stuff going with _him_? Is _he_ being decent? Don't let him get to you Lily, you're better than that._

_Anyways, we begged, screamed, cried, threw a tantrum and did everything we could to go with you to Devon. Our parents approved, they just need some more details from your mom about the trip._

_See you soon (hold on!),_

_Hugs,_

_Lucy and Nicole_

_P.S. Yes, you've mentioned it a few times._

Lily sighed. Yes, she had mentioned it a few times. Many actually, she just couldn't stop thinking about it. She'd hated him ever since she'd started Hogwarts and it wasn't now that their parents were married that that was going to change. If possible, it even made her hate him more. But then again, she had a reason. Who wouldn't hate having James Potter as a step-brother?

**

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OK, what did you think? Loved it? Hated it? Let me know - review!**


	2. The One With The Arrivals

**I'M BACK!!!**

**Yes, after five months (FIVE!) I've returned with a brand new chapter of Shattered Hope. I hope you liked the first chapter and that you enjoy this one too. I dunno when I'll update next because of the work load but I'll try to be as fast as possible.**

**Remember to check out my other story, James and Lily: Entwined**

* * *

Lily bit into a brownie as she sat at the kitchen counter, enjoying the fudgy, chocolaty sweetness. It was so… peaceful. Her mother had gone grocery shopping with David, her step-father, and James was sleeping in his bedroom, leaving the house perfectly quiet, just as Lily liked it. She grabbed another brownie from the pile her mother had made and closed her eyes, appreciating this perfect moment.

The doorbell rang all of a sudden, startling Lily and making her jump about a foot in the air. She gradually walked to the door, wondering who it could be. It was a Saturday morning and everyone around usually slept in. Lily opened the door slowly and raised her eyebrows, "Sirius? What're you doing here?"

Sirius Black cleared his throat and pushed his hair out of his face, looking at her closely. "Morning, Evans. Can I come in?" He moved aside to reveal an unusually large luggage bag.

"Sure, come on in," Lily answered, opening the door wider to allow Sirius to get inside. "What are you doing here? I thought you and David had agreed that you'd go back home to your family."

"Yeah, so? I got fed up with being there so I came here instead." Sirius answered, looking around. "Where's James?"

"He's upstairs sleeping. If you want my advice, wait for him to actually get up. He only came home at 5 in the morning and he's probably hung-over."

"Didn't you go out with him yesterday?" Sirius asked curiously.

Lily gave him a weird look. "Um… no. Why would I?"

"You're not still fighting are you?"

"Before, now and always, Sirius. You _know_ I can't stand him." Lily answered turning away. She quickly changed the subject, "Do you want to eat something? My mum made brownies…"

"Yeah, sure, thanks Evans." He answered, following her into the kitchen.

* * *

James opened his eyes only to close them again, attempting to shield them from the sunlight coming in through the window. He got up slowly, his head pounding, making him instantly regret having drunk so much the night before. As he made his way downstairs he heard voices from the kitchen.

"Lily, you really should try to fix things up with James. He's not _that_ bad."

Was that _Sirius_?

"Sirius, drop it."

It _was_.

"Lily, I'm serious."

James stepped into the kitchen and immediately Sirius turned to him. "Morning, Prongs."

James mumbled something in reply and immediately opened the cupboard and got out a box full of small bottles containing potions of all sorts.

"Lily…" he started.

"What?" she snapped, earning a glare from Sirius.

"Where's the hangover potion?"

"I flushed it down the toilet."

"WHAT?" James yelled, wincing.

"I flushed it down the toilet." Lily repeated.

"Now why would you do that?"

"You'll find, Potter, that not everyone likes to be woken up at 5 on a Saturday morning because some drunken idiot can't find his house keys."

"_What_?"

"_He doesn't even remember_!" Lily exclaimed. "I had to open the front door for you because you couldn't find your freaking house keys."

"I am not responsible for anything I do whilst under the influence of alcohol." James said, his head in his hands.

"Oh, don't give me that shit, Potter! I'd like to see what you'do if I were to get drunk and come home at 5 in the morning!" Lily yelled as she opened one of the kitchen cabinets and got out a small bottle. "Here, have your damn hangover potion and leave me alone!"

With that, Lily left, banging the door behind her and leaving a startled yet pleased James behind, staring at the door.

* * *

The door bell rang for the second time that day. Lily's mother - April - and her husband - David - hadn't gotten home yet and it was almost time for lunch. James walked graciously down the stairs and opened the door, smiling widely.

"Morning, James." Lucy and Nicole chorused, exchanging significant looks.

"Come in, I'll go call Lily," James answered, opening the door for the two girls to go inside.

"Don't worry about that, we'll go upstairs. Where is her room anyway?" Nicole asked, looking around at her surroundings.

"Er… up the stairs, turn right, it's the second room you'll see."

"Great, thanks James!" Nicole said before rushing after Lucy to go meet Lily upstairs.

* * *

Lily watched in shock as Nicole and Lucy burst into her room, dragging their things with them and not bothering to knock.

"We've come for you!" Nicole exclaimed happily.

Lily grinned widely, happy to finally see her friends.

"I thought you two were only coming tomorrow!" she said happily.

"We were but we decided to come earlier and put you out of your misery," Lucy explained.

Lily laughed. "I can't believe you're here! I haven't got anywhere for you guys to sleep, we were expecting you guys to come tomorrow morning and then we'd go straight down to Devon …"

Nicole raised her eyebrows, looking amused. "Lily, are you a witch or not? We'll help you conjure some mattresses or something."

Lily blushed and cleared her throat. "Er… right. Well, we should stay in the basement so we can have more space. Can you guys help me set everything up?"

Lily's two best friends exchanged a look and smiled, following Lily downstairs.

* * *

"Lily…!"

Lucy, Nicole and Lily climbed up the stairs to the ground floor, laughing, only to be met by Lily's mother and step father.

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Potter." Lucy and Nicole said brightly. They were greeted by two warm smiles.

"You two decided to come over earlier! Great, the more the better!" Lily' mother, April said cheerfully as she put down the shopping bags, leading them into the kitchen. "So how have you two been?"

"Mum, Sirius arrived this morning." Lily said quietly.

April and David looked up, startled. "Sirius? But I thought we'd agreed that he'd spend the summer at his parents' house to help patch things up."

"Yeah, well, it didn't work. Just like I told you it wouldn't. He brought his stuff with him and he's coming to stay."

April and David exchanged worried looks. "He'll have to go with us to Devon, then. Where is he anyway?"

"Upstairs with James, I guess."

"What time did James get home?" David asked, frowning.

"One-thirty," Lily lied. She knew it sounded very unlikely so she added, "He went upstairs to check if I was already asleep and he woke me up in the process."

David nodded but he knew his stepdaughter was lying and he admired her for it. He was sure it wasn't easy for her to live with them, and the fact that she was willing to cover up for his son showed that she was trying her best to make things work.

"Well, why don't you guys go and finish setting up the basement whilst I fix up lunch quickly?" April asked kindly.

* * *

The following morning Lily woke up as she felt someone poking her shoulder incessantly. Opening her eyes she saw Sirius standing in front of her, grinning.

"Good morning, sunshine!" he said happily.

She smiled and look around, watching as James tried to draw Lucy out of her sleep.

"Good morning, Sirius." Lily replied, getting out of bed. Besides the fact that he was best friends with James, Lily was very fond of Sirius. He was a known troublemaker but she couldn't resist him. He seemed to always be in a good mood, despite the circumstances and made her smile even when things just didn't go her way.

Sirius joined James in waking up Lucy, who was now swearing loosely, not wanting to get up. Nicole, now awake due to all the commotion, jumped out of bed and greeted James and Sirius before going upstairs and joining Lily at the breakfast table.

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**Hope you enjoyed it, please review!**


	3. The One With The Beach

**So it's been over a year since I updated and I'm really sorry about that. I started IB and it's been hectic, I've only just had time to finish off this chapter. A "warning" - this chapter hasn't been BETA-ed because Elle has been just as busy, if not more, than I have.  
**

**For any fans of _James and Lily: Entwined_, you'll be happy to know that I'm planning to post the next chapter by the end of the week.**

**Finally, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year - I wish you all the best.**

* * *

Lily's mother had insisted that they travel to Devon in the muggle way - that is, by car. David, James and Lily had all protested incessantly but she refused to listen and that is why, right now, seven people were trying to cram into the Evans-Potter's car.

"Move it, Potter!" Lily exclaimed, pushing James outside.

April, Lily's mother, frowned reproachfully but said nothing. She too was aware that Lily had covered up for James the previous day when David had asked what time James had gotten home. She knew it wasn't easy for Lily to adapt to this sudden change and her effort was proof that she was willing to try to make it work.

When they were all settled inside the car, they drove off to Devon, some anxious, some excited and others nervous of what would come out of this vacation.

* * *

Lily was in heaven. April had wanted to do everything the muggle way and that included staying at a fancy five star hotel by the beach. Lily, Nicole and Lucy would be sharing their very own suite, which included three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a lavishly decorated living room.

"Lily, this is _amazing_!" Lucy muttered, standing on their veranda. Lily laughed delightedly and joined her friend, leaning on the sides of the balcony. Instantly, her face fell as she heard laughter and she turned her head hastily.

"Potter," She said bitterly, realizing that his and Sirius' veranda was exactly next to theirs. They were both standing there; laughing about something Lily neither knew nor cared about. "Would you kindly _leave us alone_?!"

They responded with nothing but more laughter before retiring back into their room. Lily rolled her eyes, "Gosh, I wish they weren't there. Sirius isn't so bad but_Potter_?"

"Lily, give the guy a chance. He only provokes you because he knows he'll get a reaction from you. Just ignore it and he'll stop. Seriously." Nicole assured, joining them outside. "So, what do you say we invite Sirius and James to go down to the beach?"

Knowing that no matter how much she argued, they would still come with them, Lily simply nodded and went inside to put on her bikini whilst the other girls did the same. She was determined to make the most of these holidays, whether Potter decided to disturb her or not.

* * *

Beach-goers lazily turned their heads as a shriek echoed throughout the beach.

"Potter, let me go!"

James laughed and kept running towards the water, Lily hanging over his shoulder, yelling as loud as she could. "Never ever, Lily. Don't worry, you'll love this!"

One final shriek and before she knew it, Lily's entire body was underwater, her arms flailing madly as she fought to return to the surface. Water invaded her mouth and she spluttered, the lack of oxygen aching her lungs before she felt something pull her up. She coughed incessantly, trying to remove the salty taste from her mouth as she felt herself being pulled away from the water.

"Lily, are you okay?"

She opened her eyes to find Sirius leaning over her, frowning with concern. She nodded slowly as she tried to regain her breath and he dropped down next to her.

"Are you sure? You seem pretty worn out. I don't know what got into him - he probably thought you could swim."

"Yeah, and I can but it's a little hard when you've just been thrown into the water like that. That _bastard_." She responded bitterly.

Sirius said nothing but simply glanced at her from time to time, making sure she was well. He now saw exactly why she had such problems living with James - he did everything in his reach to piss her off and it worked every time.

"Don't worry about James, I'll talk to him." He offered, getting up.

Lily smiled at him, glad that someone was taking her side in this and willing to help. "Thanks, Sirius. Really."

He simply nodded and walked back to the water where James was showing off to Lucy as she rolled her eyes, pretending she couldn't care less how many back or front flips he could do in a row. Lily watched as Lucy laughed when James grabbed her by the waist and attempted to lift her out of the water. She turned her eyes away and waved to Nicole before grabbing her stuff to leave. He had, once again, ruined things for her and she had no wish to stay at the beach, watching him flirt with her friends.

* * *

Lily was sprawled on the couch watching TV when Lucy and Nicole walked in, cheeks reddened by the sun but smiling nonetheless. They dropped their beach bags by the door and, giggling, jumped onto the couch next to Lily.

"Everything okay, Lils?" Lucy asked as she flicked through the channels as Lily had shown her.

"Yeah, just didn't feel like staying after James threw me in, he kind of ruined it for me. Did you guys have fun?"

"Yeah, it was great," Nicole answered as she got up and grabbed a tub of ice cream from the refrigerator along with three large spoons. "James isn't so bad, he's quite fun to be around."

Lily said nothing, deciding that this wasn't the best time to argue about James. She'd done that one to many times already so, instead of responding, she dug her spoon inside the ice-cream and proceeded to slip it into her mouth. She licked her lips, enjoying the flavour of Cookies 'n Cream immensely.

Staring vaguely at the TV, a wave of guilt hit her as she realized that she was probably coming across as a killjoy. She frowned and, against, her will, suggested, "Why don't we go out tonight? There are a few clubs by the beach that we could go to. And… _they_ could come with us."

Both girls stared at her, surprised by her proposal. "You want them to come?"

"I don't _want_ them to but I guess it'd be okay if they did."

Nicole and Lucy exchanged surprised looks but smiled nonetheless.

"Are you really sure about this? Because, I'm telling you, James _will_ try to piss you off. Again." Nicole advised.

"So what? I'm not going let him spoil my holidays, starting from now."

Pleased that their friend had finally decided to ignore James and his antics, the girls simply smiled and retreated to their bedrooms. This was their first night out in Devon and they wanted to look perfect. Starting from now.

* * *

There was a knock on the door and Lily heard Nicole answer the door whilst she fixed her hair. She slipped on her shoes as she heard James' obnoxious laughter coming from the living room – maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. Nonetheless, she tried to smile as she entered the living room where Nicole, Lucy, James and Sirius were standing, laughing and something she neither knew nor cared about.

"Shall we go?" she asked softly, joining them by the door.

They all nodded in assent as Sirius smiled at her. "Good to hear you didn't mind us coming along," he whispered as Lily locked the door. She said nothing but instead smiled back as they made their way downstairs where they would be having dinner before heading out near the beach.

* * *

They had spent well over half an hour in line before they finally stepped into the club, the heat and moist atmosphere surrounding them, loud music booming from the speakers. There were people everywhere – at the bar, over by the tables and lounge chairs and on the dance floor, dancing in tightly packed circles.

"I'm going over to the bar. Do you guys want anything to drink?" Sirius asked, motioning towards the bar.

Not wanting to stay behind with James and Lucy, who were flirting manically with each other, Lily offered to help Sirius carry the drinks and then rushed off to the bar.

Sirius laughed as he threw a casual arm around Lily's waist, "Not so keen on having your best friend dating your step brother, are you?"

Lily paused, thinking of the best way to say it. "Sirius, I know he's your best friend but… James is an arrogant prat who would have no trouble breaking Lucy's heart. I don't want that for her." She explained.

"Lily, I've said this again and again. James honestly isn't that bad. If only you'd take the trouble to get to know him better-" Sirius started.

"Sirius, I've told you again and again, I will do no such thing. He'll do everything in his reach just to piss me off, I'm not about to go and make friends with him!"

Sirius didn't respond until they'd reached the bar and ordered their drinks. "Lily, I know he can be a real prat but I also know that underneath all that, he does genuinely like you and he's really protective of you - you're his sister."

"Step-sister," Lily countered, "and, besides, he doesn't know me that well because he's never made an effort to leave his arrogance aside and talk to me properly. I can't be friends with someone like that!"

This time Sirius didn't bother to answer and merely grabbed the drinks to take them over to the table that the others had kept. He wasn't about to waste the entire night convincing Lily that James wasn't all that bad.

* * *

It was approaching three in the morning when Lily saw Nicole dancing with a stranger close by. Seeing her friend, Nicole flirtingly waved to her dance partner and joined Lily, swinging her body to the music.

"Where's Lucy?" Lily questioned. "I haven't seen her since we brought the first round of drinks."

Nicole gestured towards the restrooms but instantly brought back her hand, regretting what she'd done as she saw Lily walking in that direction.

"Lily, wait! Trust me, you _do not_ want to go there." She pleaded.

"What? Why?"

"Er… you just don't. Come on," she answered nervously, grabbing hold of Lily's arm, "let's dance!"

"No. I need to use the bathroom anyways." Lily responded and, before Nicole knew it, Lily had reached the door to the restroom and was staring, wide-eyed, at a couple making out in the corner.

"L-Lucy?"

The couple stopped instantly and Lily said nothing as Lucy and James, arms wrapped around each other, looked guiltily at her.

"Lily, come on." She heard Nicole say in her ear and, before she knew it, she'd been dragged into the girl's restroom.

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**Ideas? Opinions? I really want to hear what you have to say so please review. **


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